“Is the Beto bubble bursting or just hissing away with a slow leak?” Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, said in a statement. "With less than four weeks until Election Day, Congressman Beto O’Rourke has hit a wall and remains the same nine points behind Sen. Ted Cruz as he was when Quinnipiac University polled the race last month.”

Earlier polls released by Quinnipiac surveyed registered voters and showed Cruz with a six-point lead in August, an 11-point lead in May and a three-point lead in April.

Immigration most important issue for a quarter of those polled

For Thursday's poll, the university surveyed 730 likely Texas voters between Oct. 3 and 9. The poll has a 4.4 percent margin of error.

Of those who responded, 26 percent said immigration is the most important issue when it comes to casting a vote for a U.S. Senate candidate. Nineteen percent said it was the economy, 17 percent said health care and 16 percent said it was the U.S. Supreme Court.

O'Rourke was supported by 84 percent of black voters and 61 percent of Latino voters. Cruz has an edge with white voters, getting support from 69 percent of those surveyed.

Ninety-six percent of respondents who named a candidate said their mind is made up in the race.

“The election is far from over, but Sen. Cruz would have to suffer a major collapse for him to lose,” Brown said in a statement. "That is even more unlikely since 97 percent of Cruz voters say they are sure they won’t change their minds.”

Other polling in the race has shown both candidates within a few points of each other, fueling enthusiasm among Democrats who see O’Rourke as a hero for the party in a staunchly conservative state. Cruz has used the same results to rally his supporters, warning against complacency this election cycle.

The New York Times Upshot and Siena College are in the process of polling Texas voters on the race. As of early Thursday morning, the poll showed Cruz with 52 percent of support from the 778 people reached for the survey and O’Rourke with 43 percent.

A CBS News/YouGov Battleground Tracker poll released Monday showed Cruz with a six-point lead over O’Rourke among registered voters, with 50 percent of respondents saying they support the Republican and 44 percent saying they back his challenger. They interviewed 1,031 registered voters. The poll has a 3.9 percent margin of error.

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Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson and several other Texas musicians Saturday for a rally and concert at Auditorium Shores in Austin. O'Rourke sang along with Willie Nelson during his performance of On The Road Again. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Texas governor's race poll: Greg Abbott leads Lupe Valdez

The Quinnipiac poll also released tallies from its survey on the race for Texas governor that show Gov. Greg Abbott with a commanding lead over his challenger, former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez.

Abbott had 58 percent support among likely voters who were polled, while Valdez received 38 percent.